The Danish Tolkien Ensemble have released a number of albums that have set the complete poems and songs of The Lord of the Rings to music, with some featuring recitation by Christopher Lee.
Beyond setting Tolkien's verse to music, the book has influenced many musicians. Rock bands of the 1970s were musically and lyrically inspired by the fantasy embracing counter-culture of the time; British 70s rock band Led Zeppelin are arguably the most well-known group to be directly inspired by Tolkien, and have several songs that contain explicit references to The Lord of the Rings ("Ramble On," "The Battle of Evermore," "Over the Hills and Far Away," and "Misty Mountain Hop").
Later, from the 1980s to the present day, many Heavy metal acts have been influenced by Tolkien. Blind Guardian has written many songs relating to Middle-earth, including the full concept album Nightfall in Middle Earth. Almost all of Summoning's songs and the entire discography of Battlelore are Tolkien-themed. Gorgoroth and Amon Amarth take their names from an area of Mordor, and Burzum take their name from the Black Speech of Mordor.
Outside of rock music, a number of classical and New Age artists have also been influenced by Tolkien's work. Enya wrote an instrumental piece called "Lothlórien" in 1991, and composed two songs for the film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring—"May It Be" (sung in English and Quenya) and "Aníron" (sung in Sindarin). Swedish keyboardist Bo Hansson released an instrumental album entitled Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings in 1970.
Music
The Danish Tolkien Ensemble have released a number of albums that have set the complete poems and songs of The Lord of the Rings to music, with some featuring recitation by Christopher Lee.Beyond setting Tolkien's verse to music, the book has influenced many musicians. Rock bands of the 1970s were musically and lyrically inspired by the fantasy embracing counter-culture of the time; British 70s rock band Led Zeppelin are arguably the most well-known group to be directly inspired by Tolkien, and have several songs that contain explicit references to The Lord of the Rings ("Ramble On," "The Battle of Evermore," "Over the Hills and Far Away," and "Misty Mountain Hop").
Later, from the 1980s to the present day, many Heavy metal acts have been influenced by Tolkien. Blind Guardian has written many songs relating to Middle-earth, including the full concept album Nightfall in Middle Earth. Almost all of Summoning's songs and the entire discography of Battlelore are Tolkien-themed. Gorgoroth and Amon Amarth take their names from an area of Mordor, and Burzum take their name from the Black Speech of Mordor.
Outside of rock music, a number of classical and New Age artists have also been influenced by Tolkien's work. Enya wrote an instrumental piece called "Lothlórien" in 1991, and composed two songs for the film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring—"May It Be" (sung in English and Quenya) and "Aníron" (sung in Sindarin). Swedish keyboardist Bo Hansson released an instrumental album entitled Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings in 1970.